Wick-type oil burner



A ril 21, 1942.

P. L. DULANEY WICK TYPE 0111' BURNER- Filed June 5, 1940 FIGJI.

vINVENTOR PAUL L. DULANEY BY 0 ATTOR Y Patented Apr. 21, 1942 UNITED STAT .EPATE. N .T 0 FF I CE iWICK-TYPE on. comma company of Ohio Application Junev 5, 1940, Serial No.

5 Claims.

The present invention relatesto awick-type oil burner, such as may be employedinheaters of one type and another, including cookin stoves. The fuel generally used in this type of device is kerosene, andas' is wellaknown in the.art,-this fuel is volatile under hightemperature conditions but will produce .a-sooty or smoky flame under unfavorable combustion conditions. In burners of the characterherein disclosed,.there has always been present the, possibility of .fuelvapors igniting within thefi'ame-converter of the burner, thereby tending 'to :overheat .the burner. Continued' overheating hasvbeen known to result in great injury to the burner and impairment of its proper functions, aswell ,as creating conditions in-ducive to a coniiagration.

One object of the present invention is to'provide a wick-type oil burner in which have been embodied several safety features-for overcoming the possibility of accidental fire hazard, overheating, anddamage to the burner.

A second important object-is to'providecmeans in-a burner of the character stated; for-,audibly means in a burner of the character stated, for

increasing the volume .andthequality-of the blue flame generated thereby, resulting in a highly efficient; structure from. which. full .1 advantage of the fuel is secured.

Another objectis to accomplish all of lthgforegoing advantages .withoutzaddedexpense:in the manufacture of the burner.

The foregoing: androther objects are attained by the means described hereinnand disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmental front elevational view of the improved burner; part being broken away to shew the interior andalsci the cross sectionof certain parts thereof.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the flame converter embodying the invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective. viewof a. spider or conmotor which forms part of the flame converter.

With reference to the accompanying drawing,

the character 2 indicates'generally the wick-reservoir section of the burnenwith whichis associated suitable-gearing indicated generally at 3 and controlled by a'manipulating handle 4 for lifting and lowering the" wick. The character 5 indicates the chimney of the burner, whil 6 indicates generally the flame converter. A chimney gallery 1, adapted to rest upon a base ring'8 furnishes the necessarysupport for the chimney. At 9 is indicated an oil supply device including means for maintaining a predetermined oillevel in the wick reservoir, and this is,.disolosed merely in broken lines due to the fact that devices for so feeding fuel to the burner arevery common in the art and accordingly requireno detailed explanation. A fuel supply line l8 conveys. fuel to the wick reservoir fitting. l2, fromthe apparatus indicated at 9.

It is deemed unnecessary to detailthe construction of the gearinghas such is well known in. the art as evidencedin the. patent of A. J. ,Blaclrford, No. 952,870, issued March 22,1910. The elevation; of. the cylindrical wick l3 may. be

adjusted simply by rotating the manipulating wheel or handle 4 with its accompanyingshaft or stem 14.

The wick reservoir may be -constitutedvofan inner shell or cylinder 45 which is fixed relative to and spaced from an outer shell ordrum H5, the space between the shells beingsealedagainst leakage of fueltherefroin along the bottom ll of the burner. The .upper end, it of the; outer shell preferably terminates at a slightlyhigher elevation than the upper end R9 of the inner shell. As will be understood, the cylindrical-- wick I3 i bodily reciprocahle vertically betweenthe shells of the wick reservoir.

The base ring-8, which isfurnished with a series of air intakeaperturesZilall around its circumference, is preferably permanently .at-

, tached at the locations 2 l, to the, wick reservoir,

so that a substantial support for the gallery 1 and chimney 5 is provided. The base ring may, in-

, elude a supporting bead 22 upon which may rest an annular seatt3 of the chimney gallery. 'An annularfledget l of the gallery, which is preferably hounded by an upstandingv annular flange 25,. provides a seat for the lower circumferential edge of the chimney.

The chimney gallery has an upwardly. and inwardly flared wall 26 extending from a location above the air intake ports 23, to. a location indicated by the line 21 just above the edgeliiv of the wick reservoir, where the element 26 meets an outwardly flared wall or flange 28 that directs the flame outwardly and upwardly Within *the chimney. The entire gallery, constituting the several elements'ZB, 2t, 25, 26,. 21 and 28, is by preference a stamped or rolled metallic ring of unitary construction.

Through a series of chimney ports'is, airis directed by means of a deflector 38, to the exterior of gallery wall 6, and this air passes upwardly to strike the wall 28 and supply the outside of the flame which emanates from the inner v or upper surface of said wall 28. The particular configuration of deflector 36, and the location of the row of chimney ports 29 below the deflector, are immaterial to the present invention and may therefore be altered if desired. The important consideration is that two distinct currents of air are permitted to wipe both the inner and outer upright faces of the gallery walls 26 and 23.

In accordance with the invention, the flame converter 6 is stationarily supported by the wick reservoir, and does not move upwardly or downwardly with the wick when the wick is adjusted as to elevation. Accordingly, the inner shell of the wick reservoir may carry a ring member 3| having an inwardly projected annular flange 32 upon which may rest the lower edge 33 of the flame converter proper. Ifdesired, the part 32 may have a depending annular flange 34 slotted at intervals as indicated at 35, to provide a detachable connection between the flame converter body and the stationary supporting element 3|.

A series of lugs 36 on the four-vaned spider 31 which constitutes a part of the converter, is adapted to engage the lower edge of the flange 34 Where the notches are not present, thereby to provide a form of bayonet slot connection allowing for bodily removal of the flame converter upon slight rotation thereof relative to the support 3!. It will be evident, of course, that the flame converter need not be detachable but might be connected directly to the wick reservoir if desired. The construction of the spider may be understood by referring to Fig. 3. I

The lower extensions 38 of the spider furnish support for, and are fixed to, a pair of cooperating body elements 38 and 4B which form the lower half of the flame converter. These parts 39 and 40 preferably are of substantially ring shape, and a margin of part 40 may fit within an adjacent margin of part 39 where they may be connected together by means of spot welds or otherwise. A shallow inturned annular flange 4| may be furnished along the lower edge of part 39, and a similar inturned flange 42 may be rolled onto the top portion of part 4!]. Both parts are provided with rows of perforations 43 and 44, for directing ascending air of combustion from the open bottom of the wick reservoir toward the inner surface of the cylinder wick.

Due to the fact that the major portion of the top of body member 49 is open, ascending air may also rise to the cap 45 of the flame converter, and be released through a circular arrangement of rather large openings 46 furnished in the top of the cap. The depending annular wall 4'! of the cap also is provided with openings such as 48 which are present all the way around said depending wall 41, for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth.

The cap 45 preferably is provided with a bonnet 50 having a central dome or chamber in which ascending air from the open bottom of the wick reservoir may collect and be discharged through the rows of apertures 49 and 5| formed therein. Another circular row of apertures 52 is formed in the outwardly extending shelf portion 53 of the bonnet, for the relief of air pressure within a blast chamber 54 which is fed through the enlarged apertures 43 of the cap. Further explanation of this blast chamber will be offered. The rows of apertures 49, 5| and 52 serve to create an up-draught within the center of the flame from the cylindrical wick, to maintain a distended condition of the flame within the chimney directly above the bonnet of the converter. The parts 65 and 58 may be held together by means of a series of turned lugs on the spider vanes, which pass through them, as indicated at 55.

The particular construction of the bonnet and cap assembly is now to be observed. It will be noted that the wall 41 of the cap is turned outwardly at 56, and carries a circular ring or row of apertures 51 near its outer edge for directing air upwardly against the under face of a deflecting ring or insert 58 which forms the lower wall of blast chamber 54. Air passing upwardly through the apertures 57 strikes the underface of member 58, and is deflected outwardly thereby into the body of the flame which passes it. Directly below the periphery of ring or insert 58, the cap wall 56 is turned downwardly to provide an annular flange 59, which flange is aligned with the top edge of the wick and acts as a wick stop limiting the elevating movement of the wick. It should be here noted that the wick, when spaced from the Wick stop, will not preclude the passage of air across the top of the wick and toward the flared wall 23 of the chimney gallery; however, movement of the wick into contact with the terminal edge of the annular wick stop, will completely and effectively dispose of the air current mentioned. By thusly closing that air passage between the wick and the wick stop 59, an abrupt change of the pressure of air within the flame converter occurs, resulting in a relatively high pressure of air within the blast chamber 54, although at the same time air is more forcefully emitted through the apertures in the cap and bonnet.

It will be noted that the blast port [it], which is continuous completely around the periphery of the converter, is quite narrow or constricted, compared with the air delivery channel between the members 58 and 58, to ensure production of a blast current of air directly above the comparatively slow moving volume of air emanating from the series of perforations 57. As illustrated in the drawing, the blast nozzle or port is only about one-third as wide as the volume nozzle or port beneath it. The result of this construction is, that when the wick is elevated sufliciently high to substantially meet the wick stop 59, the resultant increased air pressure in the blast chamber 54 will strike the flame at a location above the base of the flame, causing it to palpitate or flutter with such violence as to produce a clearly audible signal or alarm indicating that the wick has been elevated too high for offlicently operating the burner. It will be found also that the operation of the signal or alarm feature does not extinguish the flame, so that the signal or alarm very desirably is continuous and lasting, while at the same time the heating function of the burner is not materially impaired.

With the burner constructed in the manner described, an inspection of the interior of the flame converter discloses that the blast current acts to definitely preclude the accumulation and ignition of combustible vapor within the interior of the flame converter, thereby eliminating all possibility of overheating and overvaporizing the fuel within the confines of the burner. This constitutes a safety feature which precludes all possibility of destruction of the burner.

l a distance approximating the vertical flange constituting the wick stop 1' shouldbeof approximately the same: dimension, "and the port betweenwallsiifi and 53 should be 'a Width between /8"and i changesrin 'the dimensions stated above. "be understood'of course," that details concerned with themanner of'rnounting. and joining'vari- 'ous parts together. and-with certain changes of -"The-blastFchamber-*elerr1ent or insert'i58; as

shown; may be a separate annular ringsupported upon ,ta-nd preferably fixed -.to, the outer faceof cap 45, -in the vicinity of the overhanging shelf 53 0f the bonnet. *It.may. be considered, thereforepthat the parts are spotrwelded together at 6 I V The unclerface of blast chamber Wall or ring =inse1't' 58 preferably-is sloped upwardly and out- "wardly for guiding the volume current of air T from ports?! laterally into the flame base. "will-readily'be understood that by utilizing a reversed construction; the element 58 may be an integral-part of the cap,-with the'-wick stop made a separate part ,'all ofwhich is considered equivalent' construction. the bonnet, at the-location= 62, is bent downwardly' and outwardly to 'form a part-of the noz- -zle"-or' blast-passage, complementary to the-c0- operating element 58.

The-peripheral portion of It'is' noteworthy'that the wick stop 59 does not contact the upper edge-of the'wick' with a snuffingaction, that is,'there is noefiortmade to place a flat-surfaceagainst the top of the wick In constructing a burner of the type herein disclosed, the lower edge of the Wick stop 59 should bespaced above the outer shell edge l8 The-depth of The widthof theblast'orifi'ce 50 should measure When using the dimensionsgiyen, the thickness of metal-constituting the elements 58, 59 and 62 ""should' not exceed /3 Changes in the size of the burner, of course, will warrantproportional It will configuration or size which could'not affect the functions 'of' the parts relied .upon for accomplishment ofthe advantagesof the present invention, are comprehendedwithin the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Audible signal means in a wick-type oil burner for indicating maladjustment of the wick to an abnormally high level, comprising in combination: a wick and a wick supporting means of generally cylindrical formation, and means to elevate and lower the wick, a flame converter supported. pa'rtly within the wick supporting means and including a hollow body having port means to deliver a current of air of combustion to .the inneredge. of the wick, a, perforate top cap on the flame converter and having an annular outer edge located above the wick, the

perforations of which cap normally release air upwardly through theinterior of the wick supporting means, a flame spreader having an annular portion in position to contactthe. upper peripheral edge-of the wick when elevated, an exterior collar directing a second current of air upwardly past the exterior of the wick supporting means and said spreader, and means including an annular plate disposed intermediate the spreader and the annular outer edge of the top cap in spaced relationship, .to rprovider a .third annular-air current port delivering fromzthe .in-

terior or the: burner a high velocity current of air radially outwardly through the space between the plate and the annular outer edge of the top cap, the remainingannular space. between the plate and the flame spreader being in partial communication with the burner interior and thereby supplied with a limited quantity of air to provide a' fourth air current of low velocity directed radially outwardly immediately beneath the blast from said third annular air current port, the high and low velocity currents from said third and fourth ports being at an elevation above the flame spreader for cutting off the tip of the'flame' emanating from the wick when elevated into substantial contact with the spreader, to vibrate the-flame with such intensity as to produce aloud audible signal indicating the abnormally elevated condition of the wick, while at the same time supplying air to replace the air out on by contact of the wick upon the spreader and thereby ensuring maintenance of a clean flameconcurrently with production of the audible signal.

2.- Audible signal means in a wick-type oil burner for indicating maladjustment of the wick to an abnormally high level, comprising in combination: a wick and a wick-supporting means of generally cylindrical formation, and means to elevate and lower the wick, a flame converter supported partly within the Wick supporting means and including a hollow body having port means illg means and said spreader, and means including an annularplate disposed intermediate the spreader and the annular outer edge of the top cap inspaced relationship, to provide a third annular air currentport delivering from the interior of the burner a high velocity current of air radially outwardly through the space between the plate and the annular outer edge of the top "cap, the-remaining-annular space between the plate'and the flame-spreader being in partial communication with the burner interior and thereby suppliedwitlr a limited quantity of air to provide a fourth-aircurrent of low velocity directed radially outwardly immediately beneath the-blast 'from said thirdannular air current port, the high and low-velocity currents from said third andfourthports being at an elevation above-the flamespreader for cutting off the tip of theflame emanating fromthewick'when elevated into substantial contactwith the spreader, to vibrate the'iiame' with suclrintensity as to pro duce a loud audible signalindicating the ab normally elevated condition of the wick, while at the same time supplying air to replace the air cut as by contact of thewick upon the spreader and thereby ensuring maintenancepf a clean flame concurrently with production of the audible signal.

3. Audible signal means in a Wick type oil burner for indicating maladjustment of the wick to an abnormally high level, comprising in combination: a wick and a wick supporting means of generally cylindrical formation, and means to elevate and lower the wick, a flame converter supported partly within the wick supporting means and including a hollow body having port means to deliver a current of air of combustion to the inner edge of the wick, a perforate top cap on the flame converter and having an annular outer edge located above the wick, the perforations of which cap normally release air upwardly through the interior of the wick supporting means, a flame spreader having an annular portion in position to contact the upper peripheral edge of the wick when elevated, an

exterior collar directing a second current of air upwardly past the exterior of the wick supporting means and said spreader, and means including an annular plate disposed intermediate the spreader and the annular outer edge of the top cap in spaced relationship, to provide a third annular air current port delivering from the interior of the burner a high velocity thin current of airradially outwardly through the space between the plate and the annular outer edge of the top cap, the annular space between the plate a fourth air current of low velocity directed radially outwardly immediately beneath the blast from said third annular air current port, the high and low velocity currents from said third and fourth ports being at an elevation above the flame spreader for cutting off the tip of the flame emanating from the wick when elevated into substantial contact with the spreader, to vibrate the flame with such intensity as to produce a loud audible signal indicating the abnormally elevated condition of the wick, while at the same time supplying air to replace the air out off by contact of the wick upon the spreader and thereby ensuring maintenance of a clean flame concurrently with production of the audible signal.

4. Audible signal means in a wick-type oil burner for indicating maladjustment of the wick to an abnormally high level, comprising in combination: a wick and a wick supporting means of generally cylindrical formation, and means to elevate and lower the wick, a flame converter supported partly within the wick supporting means and including a hollow body having port means to deliver a current of air of combustion to the inner edge of the wick, a perforate top cap on the flame converter and having an annular outer edge located above the wick, the perforations of which cap normally release air upwardly through the interior of the wick supporting means, a flame spreader having an annular portion in position to contact the upper peripheral edge of the wick when elevated, an exterior collar directing a second current of air upwardly past the exterior of the wick supporting means and said spreader, and means including an annular plate having a circumferential edge disposed intermediate the spreader and the annular outer edge of the top cap in spaced coextensive relationship to said edge of the top cap, to provide a third annular air current port delivering from the interior of the burner a high velocity current of air radially outwardly through the space between the plate and the annular outer edge of the top cap, the annular space between the plate and the flame spreader being in partial communication with the burner interior and thereby supplied with a limited quantity of air to provide a fourth air current of low velocity directed radially outwardly immediately beneath the blast from said third annular air current port, the high and low velocity currents from said third and fourth ports being at a substantial elevation above the flame spreader for cutting off the tip of the flame emanating from the wick when elevated into substantial contact with the spreader, to vibrate the flame with such intensity as to produce a loud audible signal indicating the abnormally elevated condition of the wick, while at the same time supplying air to replace the air cut off by contact of the wick upon the spreader and thereby ensuring maintenance of a clean flame concurrently with production of the audible signal.

5. Audible signal means in a wick-type oil burner for indicating maladjustment of the wick to an abnormally high level, comprising in combination: a wick and a wick supporting means of generally cylindrical formation, and means to elevate and lower the wick, a flame converter supported partly within the wick supporting means and including a hollow body having port means to deliver a current of air of combustion to the inner edge of the wick, a perforate top cap on the flame converter and having an annular outer edge located above the wick, the perforations of which cap normally release air upwardly through the interior of the wick sup porting means, a flame spreader including an annular down-turned thin edge in position to contact the upper peripheral edge of the wick when elevated, an exterior collar directing a second current of air upwardly past the exterior of the wick supporting means and said flame spreader, and means including an annular plate having a circumferential edge disposed intermediate the spreader and the annular outer edge of the top cap in closely spaced relationship to said outer edge, to provide a third annular air current port delivering from the interior of the burner a high velocity thin current of air radially outwardly through the space between the plate and the annular outer edge of the top cap, the annular space between the plate and the flame spreader being in partial communication with the burner interior and thereby supplied with a limited quantity of air to provide a fourth air current of low velocity directed radially outwardly immediately beneath the blast from said third annular air current port, the high and low velocity. currents from said third and fourth ports being at a substantial elevation directly above the flame spreader for cutting oif the tip of the flame emanating from the wick when elevated into substantial contact with the spreader, to vibrate the flame with such intensity as to produce a loud audible signal indicating the abnormally elevated condition of the wick, while at the same time supplying air to replace the air out off by contact of the Wick upon the spreader and thereby ensuring maintenance of a clean flame concurrently with production of the audible signal.

PAUL L. DULANEY. 

